Ebrima and everyone that contributed to the campaign to educate Mr. Ford about Gambia and Yaya, I say a big THANK YOU. You did a superb job. It is vital that we let the whole world know how callous Yaya is. Ebrima, the concerns raised by Saul Khan are quite legitimate. We should always endeavor to give people like Ford benefit of the doubt and deal with them as friends. If they prove to be otherwise, we then deal with them accordingly. It was in recognition of this principle that I decided in the first place not to write to Ford myself. Better writers like your able self can sell our case more appropriately to wavering politicians like Ford; who might mean well, but are simply misinformed. However, after coming across the following article from a Bermuda newspaper and also reading the mail from you about Ford's conference in Abuja, I think I am now convinced that Ford might require tactics similar to those employed for Stovall. I do not think that we are dealing with a naïve American politician that is misinformed about Africa and developing countries in general. On Friday when I wrote that there is more than meets the eye about this conference, I was referring to the Bermuda experience. My fears about the conference's cost to the Gambian taxpayer were confirmed by the mail dealing with the Abuja conference. Ebrima, if I read your mail right, Abacha paid all the expenses for the Abuja trip. The article below also shows that some shenanigans were going on in Bermuda. Although Ford was not personally implicated. This has led me to believe that Samba Faal and Yaya have promised Ford to use our meager resources (that is not even enough to feed our people) to finance this conference in Gambia. At the very minimum, these so-called mayors will be put up in top hotels free of charge to them. Our government will probably pay for their airfare to go vacation in the sun in Africa. In return, I can safely bet that Ford has promised our moron that he (Ford) is going to bring businessmen in Gambia that are going to invest in the country. Ford will also help put Gambia on the map and attract more tourists, etc. etc. All are empty promises that Ford and his organization will not be able to deliver on. Besides, Yaya and his cohorts have poisoned the atmosphere back home so much so that the environment is not conducive for the things Ford will promise (assuming he will be able to deliver). So, is it moral for Ford to take advantage of the Gambian poor in this manner? I hope that after Ford digests the material we send him, he will realize that he cannot help us by affiliating himself with Yaya in this manner. The money that is going to be consumed by his members could have fed hundreds of Gambian families. The blood money they will use to buy them airline tickets and put them up in fancy hotels, could be used to put poor Gambian children through school and also buy basic medicine for our hospital. Ford cannot take business to Gambia. Ford cannot erase the brutality already committed by Yaya and his regime. Ford cannot also save us from future brutality from Yaya. Ford has to realize that there is already a state of war between Yaya and us. We will continue to combat until Yaya is defeated. Under these circumstances, no sane person will want to invest in The Gambia or go there to vacation. In short, Ford cannot help us by trying to misrepresent Yaya's record. I would have more respect for Ford if he came out clean and declare that he and his organization are only interested in an all-expense-paid vacation in The Gambia. If a moron like Yaya is going to use money he stole from the Gambians (money he will regurgitate when we catch up with him) to entertain the Fords of this world, that is one thing. It is an entirely different thing for someone like Ford to attempt to stand at the world stage and tell deliberate lies about who Yaya really is. We should assure Ford that we will challenge anyone that wants to paint a tyrant like Yaya as someone that respects democracy and human rights. Where the hell were these people when Yaya's forces massacred 15 innocent children in broad daylight? KB ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Ford: Conference to go ahead as planned By Meredith Ebbin THE POINT man for the World Conference of Mayors yesterday poured oil on the troubled waters of its Bermuda convention, saying it will go ahead as planned in November. Johnny Ford, Director General of the World Conference of Mayors, said the convention will take place from November 15 to 20 at the Southampton Princess Hotel. It will be attended by between 300 and 400 people, including 70 to 100 mayors as well as representatives from black colleges in the U.S. and city and county officials. The World Conference of Mayors will also be making approaches to U.S. civil rights organizations such as the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to encourage them to send representatives. Mr. Ford also said the Tourism Department -- in the wake of its decision to cut its ties with the controversial coordinator of the event Benita (Bonnie) Marshall -- has taken over responsibility for marketing the convention. Premier Pamela Gordon will open the convention and mayors Hamilton's William Frith and Lois Perinchief of St. George's will be the official hosts. Mr. Ford, a Baptist preacher, former mayor of Tuskegee, Alabama and current Alabama state representative, spoke at an hour-long press conference yesterday at the Bermuda Industrial Union, a day after arriving in Bermuda to straighten out the fiasco. He said neither government nor the Bermuda Industrial Union will end up out of pocket because of the $90,000 that has been handed over to Ms. Marshall in the hope that she would generate business for Bermuda chiefly from African-Americans. The $50,000 in taxpayers' money that the Tourism Department gave to Ms. Marshall will bring business to Bermuda. He made it clear that any promises Ms. Marshall failed to deliver, the World Conference of Mayors would honour. That includes lining up corporate sponsors and repaying the $40,000 lent to Ms. Marshall by the BIU. "Your investment is not lost," he told the press conference, which was watched by BIU members attending a workshop. "It will be returned to you." He also said he has informed Southampton Princess Hotel that the 260 rooms booked by Ms. Marshall will be taken. The controversy, which has gone on for months, was caused mainly by Ms. Marshall, whose past exploits it emerged last week, include holding a parade in honour of Dr. Martin Luther King in Texas in 1985 and pocketing the proceeds. Mr. Ford stopped short of criticizing Ms. Marshall, who was hired by the World Mayors to coordinate an event he usually organizes himself as a paid employee of the World Conference. He praised her for persuading the World Conference to hold the convention here this year. Mr. Ford apologized to the government, the BIU and the people of Bermuda for the controversy and admitted mistakes have been made. And while the World Conference of Mayors will continue to deal with Ms. Marshall for its Bermuda convention, he said the Conference has changed the way it awards contracts. Mr. Ford, who was chiefly responsible for awarding the contract to Ms. Marshall, praised Mr. Burgess for his "foresight" in contributing money to the convention, which will have a labour component. In a brief statement, Mr. Burgess said the loan was not made without the knowledge of the BIU membership -- it was dealt with at the Board level and by the General Council. Mr. Ford said later that while Ms. Marshall persuaded the union to lend her money, the BIU got involved because they knew him. In 1983, when he was mayor of Tuskegee, Mr. Ford was a guest speaker at the BIU's Labour Day events. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------